ai4bharat/Pralekha huggingface dataset:
Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas
Cabinet approves MoU between India and Israel on Cooperation in the Oil and Gas Sector
The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding  between India and Israel on cooperation in the Oil and Gas Sector.
The MoU is expected to provide impetus to India - Israel ties in the energy sector. The cooperation envisaged under the agreement will facilitate promotion of investments in each other's countries, technology transfer, R&D, conducting joint studies, capacity building of human resources and collaboration in the area of Start-ups.
President's Secretariat
IAS OFFICERS OF 2021 BATCH CALL ON THE PRESIDENT
MAKING INDIA AN INCLUSIVE AND DEVELOPED NATION IS YOUR COLLECTIVE DESTINATION: PRESIDENT MURMU TO IAS OFFICERS
A group of 182 IAS officers of 2021 batch, currently posted as Assistant Secretaries in various Union Ministries and Departments, called on the President of India, Smt Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan Cultural Centre today .
Addressing the officers, the President said that their service is unlike any other service in terms of authority, role and responsibility. She emphasised that it is not a service but a mission. She added that it is the mission to take India and its people forward under the framework of good governance. She shared that serving the nation and its people is their destiny. Making India an inclusive and developed nation is their collective destination. They can make a huge contribution by enabling the fellow young citizens to realise their potential in different fields. They have the great opportunity to contribute to building the developed India of 2047. They can become effective change-agents in transforming our country through their commitment and creativity.
The President said that a compassionate civil servant whose heart beats for the poor and the under-privileged is a true civil servant as distinct from merely a career bureaucrat. Uplifting people of the marginalized sections of the society should be an article of faith for the civil servants. She urged them to make efforts to understand the link between ‘file to field’ and also between ‘field to file’. She said that this people centric alertness and sensitivity would make them engage with the files in a far more meaningful manner.
Please click here to see the President's Speech -
Ministry of Civil Aviation
Ministry of Civil Aviation and Govt. of Himachal Pradesh Sign MoU for Development of Nagchala Airport in Mandi
Project cost is around Rs 900 crore excluding land
The Ministry of Civil Aviation and Govt. of Himachal Pradesh today signed MoU  for development of a Green Field Airport in Nagchala, Mandi District of Himachal Pradesh.
Signing Ceremony was graced by Minister of Civil Aviation, Shri Jyotiraditya M. Scindia and Shri Jai Ram Thakur, Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh along with senior officials from AAI, MoCA and Govt. of Himachal Pradesh including Shri Rajiv Bansal, Secretary, MoCA, Shri Sanjiv Kumar, Chairman, AAI, Smt Rubina Ali, Joint Secretary, MoCA, Shri Ram Subhag Singh, Chief Secretary, Govt. of Himachal Pradesh, Shri Devesh Kumar, Principal Secretary, Tourism and Civil Aviation, Govt. of Himachal Pradesh, Shri Dinesh Guleria, ATDO, Govt. of Himachal Pradesh, Shri AK Pathak, Member , AAI, Shri K. Vinayak Rao, Member , Shri M. Suresh, Member , AAI, and Ms V. Vidhya, ED .
The new greenfield airport at Nagchala, Mandi is being developed under the Greenfield Airport Policy of MoCA and a Joint Venture Company between State Government of Himachal Pradesh and Airport Authority of India has been formed. The projected land requirement for airport is 515 acres approx. and the project is estimated to cost around Rs 900 crore excluding the cost of land.
Speaking on the occasion, Shri Jyotiraditya M. Scindia said, “We are committed to provide last mile connectivity to the people of Himachal Pradesh. With this aim in mind, we are developing new aviation infrastructure as well as upgrading existing facilities in Himachal Pradesh whether it is development of new green field airport in Mandi or acquisition of additional land for extension of runways at existing airports. With this, we are committed to develop civil aviation as a harbinger of economic development for the region.”
There are 3 airports i.e. Shimla, Kullu, & Kangra and 5 heliports i.e. Kangnidhar, Shimla, Rampur, Baddi, and SASE in Himachal Pradesh that are developed or being developed which would give a massive boost to tourism industry of the state once completed.
PIB Headquarters
Salient Features of Flag Code of India, 2002
- The Indian National Flag represents the hopes and aspirations of the people of India. It is the symbol of our national pride and there is universal affection and respect for, and loyalty to, the National Flag. It occupies a unique and special place in the emotions and psyche of the people of India.
- The hoisting/use/display of the Indian National Flag is governed by the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971 and the Flag Code of India, 2002. Some of salient features of the Flag Code of India, 2002 are listed below for the information of the public:-
- The Flag Code of India, 2002 was amended vide Order dated 30st December, 2021 and National Flag made of polyester or machine made Flag have been allowed. Now, the National Flag shall be made of hand spun and hand woven or machine made, cotton/polyester/wool/silk khadi bunting.
- A member of public, a private organization or an educational institution may hoist/display the National Flag on all days and occasions, ceremonial or otherwise, consistent with the dignity and honour of the National Flag.
- The Flag Code of India, 2002 was amended vide Order dated 19th July, 2022 and clause  of paragraph 2.2 of Part-Il of the Flag Code of India was replaced by the following clause:-
 "where the Flag is displayed in open or displayed on the house of a member of public, it may be flown day and night;"
-
- The National Flag shall be rectangular in shape. The Flag can be of any size but the ratio of the length to the height  of the Flag shall be 3:2.
- Whenever the National Flag is displayed, it should occupy the position of honour and should be distinctly placed.
- A damaged or dishevelled Flag shall not be displayed.
- The Flag should not be flown from a single masthead simultaneously with any other flag or flags.
- The Flag should not be flown on any vehicle except of the dignitaries mentioned in Section IX of Part Ill of the Flag Code, such as President, Vice-President, Prime-Minister, Governors etc.
- No other flag or bunting should be placed higher than or above or side by side with the National Flag.
Note:- For further details, the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971 and the Flag Code of India, 2002 are available on Ministry of Home Affairs' website www.mha.gov.in.
Ministry of Agriculture &
Farmers Welfare
Union Agriculture Minister Shri Tomar addresses the Sustainable Agriculture Summit and Awards function
Government is encouraging the youth to join the Agriculture sector - Shri Tomar
Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Shri Narendra Singh Tomar has said that today educated youth are getting attracted towards Agriculture sector and the government is continuously encouraging them through various schemes and programmes to join the Agriculture sector. Shri Tomar said this as the chief guest at the 2nd Sustainable Agriculture Summit & Awards organized by FICCI in New Delhi today.
Emphasizing on adopting a holistic approach in the Indian agriculture sector, Shri Tomar said that there is a need to have a balanced-holistic approach in the agriculture sector, which will lead to more rapid development of agriculture. Shri Tomar said that in the agriculture sector, instead of focusing on only a few crops, we should have a diversified vision for all crops, including increasing production and productivity. Shri Tomar said that agriculture has always been the priority of our country and we Indians have expertise in it. Agriculture is necessary for food security, but in the present political scenario, neighbouring, friendly and needy countries also need our help, for which our agriculture sector is also important.
Explaining the importance of millets  in the Indian tradition, Shri Tomar said that the demand and consumption of millets is increasing globally. On the initiative of India under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, the United Nations has declared 2023 as the 'International Year of Millets', for which preparations are being made by the government. Prime Minister Shri Modi wants that nutri-cereals get respect again in the food platter, as it used to get earlier.
Shri Tomar said that after Shri Modi became the Prime Minister, an era of enthusiasm has been created in the agriculture sector of the country. He said that there are about 86 percent small farmers in the country, to promote whom the central government has taken several concrete steps, including a scheme to set up 10,000 new FPOs with an expenditure of Rs 6,865 crore. The central government is providing short-term loans to small farmers at concessional interest, increasing the limit to Rs 18 lakh crore. The central government has also focused on filling the gaps in agriculture infrastructure across the country. For this, the government has given one lakh crore rupees. Agriculture Infrastructure Fund has been set up, while many concrete measures have been taken for improvement in the areas related to agriculture including animal husbandry and fisheries. Explaining the importance of technology in the agriculture sector, he said that the government has allowed the use of drones in agriculture, while the scope of micro-irrigation along with emphasis on natural and organic farming to reduce the impact of climate change in the agriculture sector is also being expanded.
On this occasion, Joint Secretary of Agriculture Ministry, Shri Praveen Samuel along with many officials and entrepreneurs of FICCI and Yes Bank were present.
Ministry of Coal
Efficient Transportation of Coal
In order to ensure faster evacuation of coal, Rapid Loading System  is being introduced in coal companies  at different loading points, where coal loading is more than 1 million tonne  from any mine to minimize the loading time and enhance dispatch with a view to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the operation.
It has been decided by Ministry of Power that all Power Plants located within 20 km from Pithead shall construct elevated closed belt conveyors within next 2 years . Further, it has also been decided that power plants located within 20 to 40 km from pithead should construct MGR  system within 3 years  and plants located within 40-100 km from pithead should also consider to construct MGR based on financial viability.
The decision of supply of coal, to the power plants located within 20 km through elevated closed belt conveyor, was taken in order to free up railway rake to supply coal to far-away power plants more efficiently and in an effective manner.
Normally, the supply of coal from CIL to its customers is done through the Road or Rail mode or a combination of both. For faster evacuation of coal from Pit Head, Coal Handling Plants  with Rapid Loading Systems  are in place in 19 mines of CIL. As per need, construction of CHP and SILO in further 9 mines is in process. To implement modern technology like Belt Pipe Conveyors, CIL has taken initiative to construct the same in two mines of MCL in the state of Odisha for transportation of coal from its coal stock yard to their new under construction CHP and SILO.
Coal companies are taking following steps for efficient transport of coal:
- In-pit Crushing and conveying technology is being used for transportation of coal and Overburden.
- CHPs are planned near to the mines.
- Rail mode is cheaper, safer & more eco-friendly compared to road mode. The coal companies are taking steps to convert road mode to rail wherever possible.
- Coal supply to nearby Thermal Power Plants is being planned by belt conveyor system directly from the new and upcoming mines nearby.
Due to developments in the loading and transport systems in CIL & SCCL, in the year 2018-19 , there has been a growth of 9.4% in coal loading through railways as theaverage dailyloading has been303.6rakes in this year in comparison to the average daily loading of 277.5rakes in the corresponding period of last year .
This information was given in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha.
Prime Minister's Office
Poor Farmer from Assam Gets Saved Due to Ayushman Bharat
Assam’s Kalita Under goes free Cranioplasty surgery through the cashless insurance scheme
35 year old Dwijen Kalita from Assam, a poor paddy farmer suffered severe head injury. When he was admitted to the Kamrup Metro Hospital, he was semiconscious and was in agonising pain. Post detailed examination he was diagnosed with subdural haematoma which means he needed neurosurgery, Cranioplasty and an exogenous graft.
Since Kalita’s economic condition was poor it seemed impossible for his family to bear the treatment expenses.
However the family found its real hope when they were informed of the Ayushman Bharat-PMJAY under which he could undergo the prescribed treatment for free.
Kalita feels that the scheme is a blessing for poor people like him.
Today he is a healthy man and was one of the 31 beneficiaries who met the Prime Minister to explain the success of the World’s largest health scheme.
Launched exactly a year ago in 2018, Ayushman Bharat is world’s largest health insurance scheme, which aims to provide easy access to medical facilities to over 10.74 Crore poor people in the country.
In the last one year over 50,000 patients like Dwijen Kalita could get access to medical facilities outside their state where best such facilities were available owing to the Ayushman Bharat programme.
Under Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya , 16,085 Hospitals have been empanelled, over 41 lakh beneficiaries have been treated and over 10 Crore e-Cards issued.
Over 20,700 Health & Wellness Centers have become operational across the country under Ayushman Bharat.
Click here to see Details here:
Ministry of Information & Broadcasting
NFAI Acquires Rare Treasure of Over 450 Glass Slides of Early Telugu Cinema, from late 1930s to mid-1950s
Glass slides are exquisite records of Indian cinematic heritage: Director, NFAI
In a major acquisition, the National Film Archive of India has added more than 450 glass slides of the films to its collection. These glass slides are an integral part of the early cinema viewing experience. Made by pressing a film positive between two thin glass squares, these slides were used for announcing new attractions before the commencement of a film or during intervals in theatres.
Mr Prakash Magdum, Director, NFAI, said, “Glass slides are exquisite records of Indian cinematic heritage, and we are happy to preserve these in our archival collection. In the wake of fast-changing technologies having these glass slides in such huge numbers is a rare and significant discovery. I appeal to all film lovers to come forward and deposit film footages, photographs, posters, lobby cards and other such material so that it can be preserved.”
The film positives used to prepare the glass slide were miniatures of the film poster or publicity material for newspapers and magazines. These glass slides represent the pictorial history of early Telugu cinema from the late 1930s to the mid-1950s and feature lovely frames tracing the gravitas of Telugu films during the early decades of Indian talkie.
Commenting on the significance of the collection, Smt. Arti Karkhanis, in-charge of documentation at NFAI said, “These glass slides give a bird’s eye view of the publicity scenario in the Telugu industry in its formative years. It has a great reference value for film researchers, and we will soon digitize them.”
The acquisition includes glass slides from many important films like V.V. Rao’s trendsetting social drama about widow remarriage ‘Malli Pelli’ , B.N. Reddi’s ‘Vande Mataram’ , starring Chittor V. Nagaiah, popular swashbuckling hit ‘Keelu Gurram’ , featuring Akkineni Nageshwara Rao and Anjali Devi, another hit N. T. Rama Rao starrer ‘Daasi’ , critically acclaimed adaptation of Sharat Chandra Chattopadhyay’s classic Devdas Vedantam Raghavaiah’s ‘Devadasu’ , starring Akkineni Nageswara Rao, Savitri and Lalitha in the central roles and many more. All these glass slides are in black and white covering 70 Telugu films from 1939 to 1955.
Last year too NFAI acquired nearly 400 glass slides. Presently, NFAI has over 2000 such glass slides of Hindi, Gujarati and Telugu films in its collection.
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
COVID - 19 Vaccination Update - Day 381
India’s cumulative vaccination coverage crosses 166.59 crore
More than 53 lakh Vaccine doses administered today till 7 pm
India’s COVID-19 vaccination coverage has crossed 166.59 Crore  today. More than 53 lakh  Vaccine Doses have been administered till 7 pm today. More than 1 Crore  Precaution Doses for the identified categories of beneficiaries for COVID vaccination have been administered so far. The daily vaccination tally is expected to increase with the compilation of the final reports for the day by late tonight.
The cumulative coverage of vaccine doses, segregated based on population priority groups, is as follows:
|
|
Cumulative Vaccine Dose Coverage
|
|
HCWs
|
|
1st Dose
|
|
10395674
|
|
2nd Dose
|
|
9871282
|
|
Precaution Dose
|
|
3381818
|
|
FLWs
|
|
1st Dose
|
|
18396488
|
|
2nd Dose
|
|
17247088
|
|
Precaution Dose
|
|
3916224
|
|
Age Group 15-18 years
|
|
1st Dose
|
|
46547420
|
|
|
|
2nd Dose
|
|
335552
|
|
Age Group 18-44 years
|
|
1st Dose
|
|
541158635
|
|
2nd Dose
|
|
405844481
|
|
Age Group 45-59 years
|
|
1st Dose
|
|
200315666
|
|
2nd Dose
|
|
171549277
|
|
Over 60 years
|
|
1st Dose
|
|
124904086
|
|
2nd Dose
|
|
106909615
|
|
Precaution Dose
|
|
5131834
|
|
Cumulative 1st dose administered
|
|
941717969
|
|
Cumulative 2nd dose administered
|
|
711757295
|
|
Precaution Dose
|
|
12429876
|
|
Total
|
|
1665905140
Today’s achievement in the vaccination exercise, segregated by population priority groups, is as follows:
|
|
Date: 31st January, 2022 
|
|
HCWs
|
|
1st Dose
|
|
344
|
|
2nd Dose
|
|
6603
|
|
Precaution Dose
|
|
70508
|
|
FLWs
|
|
1st Dose
|
|
657
|
|
2nd Dose
|
|
14103
|
|
Precaution Dose
|
|
150263
|
|
Age Group 15-18 years
|
|
1st Dose
|
|
530981
|
|
|
|
2nd Dose
|
|
335552
|
|
Age Group 18-44 years
|
|
1st Dose
|
|
754726
|
|
2nd Dose
|
|
2047946
|
|
Age Group 45-59 years
|
|
1st Dose
|
|
132636
|
|
2nd Dose
|
|
550522
|
|
Over 60 years
|
|
1st Dose
|
|
93750
|
|
2nd Dose
|
|
325940
|
|
Precaution Dose
|
|
344251
|
|
Cumulative 1st dose administered
|
|
1513094
|
|
Cumulative 2nd dose administered
|
|
3280666
|
|
Precaution Dose
|
|
565022
|
|
Total
|
|
5358782
The vaccination exercise as a tool to protect the most vulnerable population groups in the country from COVID-19 continues to be regularly reviewed and monitored at the highest level.
Ministry of Rural Development
Impact of Migration of Labourers on MGNREGS
There is no specific information available regarding large scale migration of labourers from rural, tribal and remote areas to urban areas in search of employment. However, as per Periodic Labour Force Survey  conducted during July 2020 – June 2021, the estimated percentage distribution of migrants in urban areas by reason for migration is as follows:
|
|
Percentage distribution of migrants in urban areas by reason for migration from PLFS conducted during July 2020 – June 2021
|
|
Reason for migration
|
|
Percentage of migrants in urban areas
|
|
in search of employment/better employment
|
|
10.8
|
|
for employment/ work 
|
|
8.9
|
|
loss of job/closure of unit/lack of employment opportunities
|
|
1.3
|
|
migration of parent/earning member of the family
|
|
19.9
|
|
to pursue studies
|
|
2.4
|
|
marriage
|
|
47.5
|
|
natural disaster 
|
|
0.2
|
|
social / political problems 
|
|
0.2
|
|
displacement by development project
|
|
0.2
|
|
health related reasons
|
|
0.6
|
|
acquisition of own house/ flat..
|
|
1.7
|
|
housing problems
|
|
2.6
|
|
post retirement
|
|
0.5
|
|
Others
|
|
3.2
|
|
All
|
|
100.0
|
|
Note: These estimates are obtained from PLFS conducted during July 2020 – June 2021,
Source: NSS Report Migration in India, 2020-21
Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme  is a demand driven wage employment programme which provide for the enhancement of livelihood security of the households in rural areas of the country by providing at least one hundred days of guaranteed wage employment in every financial year to every household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work. It provides livelihood security, i.e. fall back options for livelihood for the rural households, when no better employment opportunity is available and mitigates to some extent push factors for migration.
The details of employment provided  under Mahatma Gandhi NREGS in last three financial year 2019-20, 2020-21 and 2021-22 and current financial year 2022-23  is as follows:
|
|
Financial Year
|
|
2019-20
|
|
2020-21
|
|
2021-22
|
|
2022-23

|
|
Employment provided


|
|
265.32
|
|
389.08
|
|
363.46
|
|
119.85
This information was given by the Union Minister of State for Rural Development, Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti in a written reply in Lok Sabha today.
Special Service and Features
International Yoga Day celebrations in 75 Iconic monuments
On the occasion of the 75th Anniversary of Independence and as part of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav  Archaeological Survey of India and Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan will jointly organise International Yoga Day celebrations at 75 "Adarsh Smarakas"  in the country on 21st June 2022.
Bekal fort, being one such iconic monument, is selected as a venue for conducting International Yoga Day 2022. On the day, all the four Kendriya Vidyalayas in the district and Archaeological Survey of India  Thrissur Circle will jointly host International Yoga Day celebration at Bekal Fort. The programme will be inaugurated by Smt .Meghashree. D.R, Sub Collector, Kasaragod district at 8:00 AM.
Students from all the four Kendriya Vidyalayas of the district,viz, KV1 and KV2 Kasaragod, K.V Kanhangad and K V.Nileshwar will perform Yoga activities as designed by the Ministry of Ayush, Govt. of India. Adding hues to the programme, students from these Kendriya Vidyalayas will present cultural programmes. The newly built amenities at Bekal Fort will also be inaugurated on the same day followed by the programme.
--ND--
(Visitor Counter : 12
Cabinet
Cabinet approves pact with Germany on Railways
The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi was apprised of the Joint Declaration of Intent  between India and Germany regarding cooperation on strategic projects in the field of Railways. The Joint Declaration of Intent was signed last month.
Benefits:
Joint Declaration of Intent  with the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy of the Federal Republic of Germany will provide a platform to Indian Railways to interact and share the latest developments and knowledge in the field of Railways. The Joint Declaration of Intent  will facilitate exchange of information expert meetings, seminars, technical visits and implementation of jointly agreed cooperation projects.
Background:
Ministry of Railways have signed Memorandums of Understanding/ Memorandums of Cooperation/ Administrative Arrangements/ Joint Declarations of Intent for technical cooperation in the rail sector with various foreign Governments and National Railways in respect of identified areas of cooperation, which inter alia, include high speed rail, speed raising of existing routes, development of world class stations, heavy haul operations and modernization of rail infrastructure etc.
The MoUs/ MoCs/ AAs/ JDIs facilitate exchange of technical experts, reports and technical documents, training and seminars/ workshops focusing on specific technology areas and other interactions for knowledge sharing.